


Halloween Deficiency

by Achrya



Series: Roommate AU [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Fluff, Halloween, Multi, Pointless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 03:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5114114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achrya/pseuds/Achrya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m sure people will just assume you’re a gay couple with an awkward white friend.” Bucky said breezily. Jim’s eyebrows went up and Sam looked pointedly everywhere but at Bucky. “Oh fuck you both.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Halloween Deficiency

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Further adventures in the roommate AU, in which Rhodey, Bucky, and Sam are roommates. I like the idea of it just being a series of oneshots/short chapter tales so. That’s what it is.  
> Pairing: SamBuckyRhodey  
> Warnings: Language. Pointless domestic fluffy things.

Sam had been taking his younger sister out to Trick’or’Treat basically since the time his mother deemed him mature enough to not sell her for a snickers bar, so roughly from the time he was fifteen on. College and living outside of the house did nothing to change this and, honestly, Sam wouldn’t have wanted it to.

He loved spending time with his siblings and, with Gideon firmly in the ‘I’m too old to dress up and be seen with my older brother stage’ he was determined to enjoy going out with Sarah as much as he could.

When she told him she wanted to be Wonder Girl he ordered himself a Superman t-shirt and fake glasses and found an ugly suit at Goodwill to match the theme. He kept it to himself, deflecting his sister’s questions about what he was going to wear every time she called. It turned out to be harder than he’d expected to not cave when she started founding disappointed during their calls but he managed to hold out the entire three weeks between her telling him what she was dressed up as and Halloween.

Sarah’s excited squeal when their mother dropped her off was more than worth all the teasing he’d endured from Bucky and Jim when he’d decided he was just going to spend the whole day in his costume. They, apparently, didn’t dress up.

Sam figured they hadn’t grown out of whatever phase Gideon was currently in but he very kindly kept that opinion to himself.

Sarah came bounding out of the car, ignoring their mother’s shout to not slam her doors, and all but threw herself at him, arms wrapping around his middle. “You look great! I was afraid you weren’t going to dress up too!”

“And miss a chance to look this great?” He smiled at her then looked up at his mom’s laugh. He managed to shuffle closer in spite of the babbling pre-teen’s death grip on him, and bent down to lean through the passenger side window. “Hi.”

“Very nice costume Sammy.” She smiled at him brightly then held out his sister’s backpack. “She’s got an essay to finish for history before you head out, she’s had lunch already and I put pizza money in the bag. I’m in the ER all night but you know how to reach me if you need me. If James can’t give you a ride back to the house Ms. Johnson is available. Gideon should be home by nine, if he isn’t you call me. Nine-oh-one, you call me, okay?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes mom. Are you going to tell me what time to put her to bed for the 50th time and not to let her eat all the candy at once?”

“Get out my car boy. And no later than ten and I’m serious. And tell James and Bucky they’re invited to dinner tomorrow. Oh and-”

He looked at his sister from the corner of her eyes. She shook her head .

They took a moment for Sarah to climb back in and kiss their mother goodbye then Sam suffered through a kiss to the cheek and another reminder of the rules and being told the number for the nurses’ station in the ER for what must have been the thousandth time (it had been the same all his life.) before she finally pulled away from the curb.

Sam waved until she was out of sight then looked down at his sister. “Bucky’s making cookies. Those don’t count towards the candy total do they?”

“Nope!” Sarah chirped, already pulling away and jogging for the door.

A plate of still warm cookies and an update on how Sarah was doing in school and with her gymnastics classes (all for an enraptured looking Bucky’s benefit.) later found them creeping close to 3pm. When he’d looked online it had said trick’or’treating in their neighborhood was due to start around 5 so if he wanted Sarah ready and feed they were going to have to get a move on.

It turned out Sarah wanted her hair fluffed up and picked out to look like a picture she pulled up on his phone so he set about undoing the twists in her hair while she finished up her essay. Bucky hovered nearby, offering suggestions and help to Sarah, both of them steadfastly ignoring him when he pointed out that she probably didn’t need a history major’s help for a 5th grade paper on the Salem Witch Trials.

They were talking, very seriously, about the way panic and fear could make people turn against family and friends when Sam’s phone rang. He fished the phone out of his pocket, trying not to sigh as Bucky started listing other examples of groupthink and how it related to cults.  

She was going to freak out all the kids in her class.

Again.

He noted that it was Jim then swiped to answer the call.

“Are you going to be back soon? Please say yes? Get Bucky away from my sister.”

Bucky stuck out his tongue. Sarah giggled then twisted around to face Sam and mimicked the action. Bucky waggled his eyebrows, looking delighted. Sam sighed.

Jim laughed quietly. “I’m actually at that Halloween store by campus. Mom asked me to take Lilah for the night. I was thinking maybe we could come out with you and Sarah.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Sarah and I have a strict ‘everyone dresses up’ rule.”

“Is that Jim?” Sarah popped up and all but climbed into his lap. “Is he going to come? is Lilah with him? Is Bucky coming too? You are right?”

Bucky looked horrified when her attention suddenly turned back to him. “Um.”

Jim was silent for a long moment then, slowly. “I’ll dress up if he does.”

Bucky’s eyes widened comically. “Traitor.”

There was some protest but it was half-assed at best. Bucky quickly wilted under the onslaught that was Sarah’s puppy dog eyes though Sam had to give credit where it was due because he held out longer than most people managed.

They were headed the store Jim was at within fifteen minutes. Sam was expecting a madhouse full of coeds who’d waited to the very last minute and had drunken shenanigans to get up to and he wasn’t disappointed. They stepped through the door in a crush of bodies, frantic shouting, and atmospheric music. He took Sarah by the hand then started weaving his way through the crowd.

They followed the signs back to the children’s section which was, thankfully, much calmer. Finding Jim from there was just a matter of following his tired “How about this one?” to the right aisle. Jim was holding up a astronaut costume for his nieces perusal when the turned into the row he was standing in.

Lilah spotted them first. Her eyes went straight to Sarah in her Wonder Woman t-shirt and jeans, silver wrist cuffs, and metal headband, with a gold rope acting as a belt and a broad smile lit up her face.

“You can help! Uncle Jim is bad at it.”

Jim made a show of looking offended but Sam could see the relief in his eyes. “You’re firing me Lilah? Is that how it is?”

She nodded, causing the brightly colored beads on the ends of her braids to clink against each other, expression deadly serious. “Sorry.”

Sarah extracted her hand from Sam’s and then took ahold of Lilah’s and headed for the wall display, careful to keep her steps short so the younger girl could keep up. They followed, Jim sliding back to fall into step with him and Bucky.

“You’ll dress up if I do?” Bucky hissed, voice pitched low so the girls wouldn’t hear. “Just run the bus right over me next time.”

Sam was impressed with how unapologetic Jim looked. “There’s no reason I should suffer alone.”

“It’s Halloween, not a march to the gallows.” Sam said, shaking his head. “Think of it as a bonding experience.”

“I like bonding through sex better. I’m just putting that out there for you to-OW!”

Sam elbowed the other man in the ribs. It was probably unneeded, Bucky hadn’t been speaking much above a whisper, but it was the principal of the matter. On the list of things he needed in life his sister figuring out he was engaged in some weird polyamorous not exactly relationship thing with his roommates was somewhere around ‘zombie apocalypse’ and ‘syphilis’.

His mother thought Jim and Bucky were such nice boys and in the past year she’d gotten to a point that she invited Jim’s parents and Bucky’s father to holiday dinners and went to church functions with Jim’s mother. He didn’t want to disrupt what was, so far, a good thing all around.

Sarah and Lilah turned in response to Bucky’s yelp. Sarah frowned at them, taking in Bucky’s sullen pout and the way he was rubbing at hand over his side.

“Don’t be weird.”

“They can’t help it.” Jim stage whispered.

That seemed to be an acceptable answer because, with one last warning look, Sarah was back on track, talking to Lilah and pointing at then dismissing certain costumes.

“That was real smooth Sam.” The sarcasm dripped from Bucky’s voice. “If I ever need a secret keeper you’re the guy I’m going to ask. No one will ever suspect.”

Sam didn’t say anything. Not because Bucky had a point, which he didn’t because Sam would have been the go-to Secret Keeper and ‘Shit hit the fan, who can we trust’ guy for just about everyone he knew, thank you very much.

No he dismissed the insult (Bucky hadn’t even read Harry Potter! His interest were strictly boring ass history and long flowery epic poem type shit.) because it would piss the other man off.

“Any costume ideas?” He looked at Jim when he asked. Bucky muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘prick’ under his breath.

“I think I’ll let Lilah pick. I’ve been going as ‘drunk college student’ since my senior year in high school but I’m thinking being part of a group of men in their twenties with two little girls is dangerous enough without adding alcohol.” Jim deadpanned.

“I’m sure people will just assume you’re a gay couple with an awkward white friend.” Bucky said breezily. Jim’s eyebrows went up and Sam looked very pointedly everywhere but at Bucky. “Oh fuck you both.”

“Uncle Jim!” Lilah called. She was holding a costume bag almost as big as she was and bouncing excitedly. “Look!”

She turned it around and help it up for them to see. Sarah stood behind her looking extremely pleased with herself. Sam felt an involuntary smirk curving his lips.

“That’s great Lilah. C’mon, I know just what your uncle and Bucky should be.” He didn’t miss the nervous looks his roommates exchanged.

—

“Why do I have to be Robin?”

Sam was barely through the door of Bucky’s room when the other man started whining. He’d left the girl’s with Jim in the living room to finish getting their shoes and jackets on, Lilah now in her Batman costume and Jim as the Joker, to come make sure Bucky hadn’t decided to channel his character and escape via the fire escape.

Instead he was sitting on his bed, fiddling with the bright green mask.

“Jim was too short for the costume and they only had the one.” Sam said then shrugged. “It could have been the version with the shorts so there’s that.”

Bucky huffed in annoyance. “Yeah, the green tights are much better.”

They were pants actually. Very tight pants.

“I like them.” Bucky’s glare could have curdled milk. Sam smiled back. “We’re heading out soon. Get your cape on.”

Bucky sighed but got up and snagged his cape from where it was hanging off the edge of his dressed. “You know I haven’t really done Halloween since my parents split up. Mom moved to Florida with Becca and I just wasn’t into it after that.”

Sam considered that for a moment. He knew Bucky didn’t talk to his younger sister as much as he wanted and hadn’t seen her in a few years. Sam couldn’t even really imagine how much it sucked for his friend; he was close to his siblings and the idea of not seeing them for years was just…beyond him.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want. Jim will get over having to suffer by himself.”

Bucky shook his head. “Not gonna get all dressed up for nothing. ‘Sides, what kind of jerk lets Batman go out without her sidekick?”

He tossed the cape over his shoulder then made to move past Sam to step out of the room. He grabbed the other man’s elbow to hold him still then leaned in. Bucky swayed closer, one of his hands reaching out to settle on Sam’s hip. They were close enough that Sam could feel Bucky’s breath across his lips and see the pink flush starting to climb up his skin.

“Wait. Do you think if I told Jim about my Halloween deficiency he’d put on the Lion King or something for the girls and come back here?” Bucky’s breathy tone and the way his hand squeezed just so was distracting.

But not that distracting.

“Halloween Deficiency isn’t quite on ‘pity sex’ level.” He punctuated the statement with a quick kiss to the corner of Bucky’s mouth. Anything more than that held the risk of becoming more than just that. 

“Sammy, come on! It has to be good for at least a blowjob. This is legitimately sad.” 

Sam choose not to dignify that with a response.


End file.
